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Chino Turns 100!

President Paul Collado presents Chino with a momento of the day.

Last night’s match was a landmark occasion for our Keeper and Skipper Chino as he was making his 100th appearance for the Club. For the last 4 seasons Kyle ‘Chino’ Goldwin has been an example of dedication, determination and sacrifice for the Club he loves. He is both an example to his teammates and someone our youth players should look up to. He has probably missed 2-4 training sessions in four seasons which shows his desire to improve, his commitment and love for this game. Congratulations Captain on your 100 appearances for Gibraltar United.

Chino has seen a lot of change during his years at the Club and we asked him about it after last night’s action. He had this to say.

‘I signed signed for the club in 2014 as I believed in the ambitious project they had planned and it worked for 3 seasons, winning the second division title in our first season and then keeping ourselves in the Premier Division for the following two seasons with only local players. However as we all know the league is getting tougher each season! This season I welcomed the change in philosophy from the club and with the help of a well experienced group of investors, with the likes of Michel Salgado and Mr Pablo Dana we have been able to sign some very good foreign and local players. The transition has been smooth and in all honesty I believe we are doing very well considering we have a lot of new players.’

We also asked how it felt to become a Centurion for the Club and it was clear that he was gushing with pride at this achievement, ‘it feels fantastic honestly and I would like to thank everyone at the club for the beautiful presentation. It was a great moment for myself and my family.’

Asked about the next 100 games he reacted quite tongue in cheek by saying he would love to be Gibraltar’s Buffon adding, ‘I plan on playing for as long as possible and thanks to the support of my wife and family I believe I can reach another milestone!’

His thoughts now turned to the present as we pressed him his thoughts on this season as well as the International game versus Latvia coming up next week, ‘like I mentioned before I have really enjoyed this season as we have a very competitive squad and a great bunch of lads not only on the pitch but off it. By all means it’s not over and we will fight hard to achieve our objectives but we must not forget it’s almost a completely new squad and in my opinion we are doing very well! We have a great technical team who leads this great group of players and are getting the best out of all of us.’

‘As for the forthcoming internationals I would like to add that it feels amazing to be in the squad especially as international games are finally back home where we can have the full support from our home crowd. It is going to be an unbelievable experience. I would also like to that all the GFA fans who made the long trips to Faro to support us. A wholehearted thank you’. His passion clear for all to see.

We finally asked Chino about what sticks in his mind about these topsy turvy 100 appearances for Gibraltar United and he was quite philosophical about it, ‘yesterday has to be up there amongst my best memories with the club. Unbelievable day, firstly getting called up for the national squad then my 100th appearance for the club and sealing the day with a magnificent performance. Another day that stands out for me is winning the second division tittle first time of asking’.